Snow-plow



I I (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. SOHEPPLER.

SNOW PLOW; No. 421,841. Patented Feb. 18, 1890.

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(No Model.) a Sheets-Sheet 2;

T. SCHEPFLER. snow PLOW.

No. 421,841. Patented Feb. 18, 1890. TI

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

T. SUI-IEPFLER. I SNOW PLOW. No. 421,841. Patented Feb. 18, 1890.

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in the claims.

UNITED STATES PATENT O FICE.

THEODORE SOHEFFLER, OF PATERSON, NEl/V JERSEY.

SNOW-PLOW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 421,841, dated February18, 1890.

Application filed April 16,1889- Serial No. 307,490. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE SOHEFELER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Paterson, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey,have inven ted a certain new and useful Improvement in Snow-Flows, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of snowplows in which a series ofshovels revolve in a case from an aperture in which they throw the snowby centrifugal force; and it consists in the devices and combinations ofdevices hereinafter set forth, and pointed out Figure 1 is a frontelevation and partial section of my improved snow-plow. Fig. 2 is atransverse section and partial plan view. Fig. 3 is a side elevation.Fig. 4. is a plan View of a portion of the frame. Fig. 5 is a sideelevation of a portion of said frame. Fig. 6 is a transverse verticalsection of the casing for the rotary shovels, and Fig. 7 is alongitudinal vertical section on the line y y of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is aside elevation of the forward end of the snow-plow drawn on a somewhatlarger scale than the same parts in Fig. 3; and Fig. 9 is a top planView thereof, pagtially in section.

In the drawings, A A represent the two compartments of a casing orshell, each compartment in vertical cross-section being circular, asshown in Fig. 6, and having the upper portion of the adjacent edges ofthe circle cut away, as shown from the points f 5 f of the compartment Aand g" g of the compartment A, so that the two compartments will be incommunication at their upper adjacent portions. In longitudinal sectioneach of these compartments is in the form of a frustum of a cone, asshown for the I compartment A in Fig. '7. Upon top of these compartmentsis secured in any convenient manner an uptake D, which coincides at itsbottom with the cut-away portion at f and g" and inclines inward andupward from those points and terminates in a circular portion, uponwhich is located a circular stack F.

The compartments A A are held together at the back by the back plate a bc. In each of the compartments is located a rotary shovel formed by acenter hub O and a series of blades 19 p p p, united to a back plate e,for

the compartment A, and a similar hub C, series of shovels p p p p, andback plate 6' for the compartment A, each of the blades being'suitablysecured at their inner ends to the back plates and near their outer endssuitably supported on said central hub. Each of these blades ispreferably of the curvature shown in Fig. 2, where it will be seen that,commencing at a point at the back plate, they first curve away from theside of the casing and then gradually approach it until they are quiteclose to it near their outer ends. Preferably these plates are formed sothat the centers of their arcs lie at the center line of the uptake D.The dotted lines 1 1 in Figs. 2 and 7 show the center point of the arcters and to feed the snow toward their centers and to the middle of theuptake. The outer ends of the plates are formed with a curved orturned-over portion (designated 4, 5, 6, 7 in Fig. 2) to further effectthe delivery of the snow to their centers and to the mid dle of theuptake.

Surrounding the compartments A A at their front ends are hoods B B, onehood for each compartment and each hood being substantially in the formof a trapezoid, the hoods having perpendicular adjacent sides I Z, andeach hood having a horizontal top and is, an inclined side it n, and abottom on m, the

latter slightly curving from the bottom of the inclined side to thebottom of the perpendicular side, and eachhaving a recess formed in itfor the rails. These hoods are secured to the compartments which theysurround in any suitable manner at their rear ends, and at their frontends are cut away in the manner shown in Figs. 3 and 7, so as to provideat each corner of the hood an advanced pointed portion f g h 'i for thehood B and f g h 2" for the hood B.

It will be seen that by the shape given to the hood the snow to beremoved will be met by the advanced portions f g h i and f g h.

whereby danger of the snow remaining at the side of the track falling inupon the track is greatly lessened; also, that the formation of thebottom of the hood, so as to permit it to descend below the head of therail, enables the snow to be taken up very C011] pletelyfrom the track.The hoods clearing a greater space than that occupied by the casing ofthe shovels permits the snow -plow to pass easily around the curves. Theconic form given the compartments of the casing, having the largersection of the cone outward, further aids the accomplishment of this.

Each series of rotary blades is rotated in an opposite direction to theother series, so that the tendency will be for the blades to throw thesnow into the same aperture. Over the aperture through which the snow isto be ejected on the flange q of the uptake-pipe D is located a stack F,the mouth of which is approximately perpendicular to the ground. Thisstack F is mounted on the flange q, so as to be capable of rotationthereon, and has a flange, 0', which rests on the flange q,which isprovided with a series of sockets t a v 10, into either of which ahand-bar may be in.- serted for the purpose of rotating the stack tobring its mouth into different positions, so as to throw the snow indifferent directions, as found convenient. It will be seen that when themouth of the stack faces directly across the track the snow will be thusthrown straight away from the track at right angles thereto; but whenthe mouth of the stack is turned so as to be nearly parallel with thetrack the snow will be thrown almost along the line of the track. Thusby providing a rotatable stack with its mouth substantiallyperpendicular to the ground is provided a means for regulating thedistance from the track to which the snow is to be thrown. The rotationof the shovels is accomplished by means of the shafts S S, having ontheir ends the beveled gears S S which are driven through the medium ofbevel wheels S preferably from a steam-cylinder 011 the plow, receivingsteam preferably from the locomotive-boiler.

By reason of the casing of the plow descending below the heads of therails it becomes necessary at switches and crossings to raise the plowstructure to clear the same. I provide a mechanism for lifting the wholefront end of the plow.

The whole machine is mounted on a frame G, preferably of iron, fromwhich depend the pedestals II H, which serve as guides for theaxle-boxes, the springs interposed between the tXl6-l)OXGS and the frameserving to allow the frame sufficient play up and down when going overrough places on the road.

The axle-boxes of the wheels I I are connected to the springs L in themanner shown, and to the spring-hangers N N of the front spring areattached the arms 0 O, and to these latter are secured the shafts T T,sup ported in the bearings U U on the frame G. These shafts T T areprovided at each end with levers V V, which are connected to gether bythe link V.

To the shafts T T" are also attached the segment-shaped ratchet-piecesIV IV, with the teeth of which the pawls R R, which have their fulcrumson the lugs F F of the frame, engage. The lever V is longer than thelever V, and is at the lower end attached to a knuckle-joint K,connecting with the pistonrod P of the steanrcylinder Q.

The weight of the machine exerts through the spring-links N N and shaftsT T aforce in the direction of the arrow B in Fi 5, which is taken up bythe ratchet and pawl, there by keeping the machine in position. Thedrawings show the machine in its lowest position and the piston-rod Pout its entire length. When steam is admitted in the front end of thecylinder, the piston will be forced in and, acting in the oppositedirection to the weight of the machine, the levers V V will be drawnbackward, thus raising the whole machine up as the lower ends of thehangers N N are acting as fulcrums.

lVhen the machine is raised sufficiently high, steam is exhausted, andthe pawls, havin g engaged with another tooth of the ratchet, hold themachine in position again. To lower the machine again, steam will beadmitted to.

the front end of the cylinder to back out the pawls, and when they arefree of the ratchet they will be removed altogethertherefrom by means ofthe handle M, connected with the pawls through the rod N and I P, asshown in Fi 5, when the machine will descend and the pawls may bedropped into position again.

lVhile I prefer to use a pair of rotary shov els in connection with theremainder of my apparatus, yet I do not mean to limit myself to suchuse, as it is obvious that a single shovel might be used to advantage inconnec-- tion with the other parts or some of them,

and the hood might be dispensed with and.

its functions performed by the casings for the shovels.

IVhat I claim is- 1. In a snow-plow, the combination of a pair of rotaryshovels revolving in opposite directions, and a single outlet throughwhich the snow is ejected, substantially as setforth.

2. In a snow-plow, the combination of a pair of rotary shovels revolvingin opposite directions, a single outlet through which the snow isejected, and an uptake, substantially as set forth.

3. In a snow-plow, the combination of a pair of rotary shovels revolvingin opposite directions, a single outlet through which the snow isejected, an uptake, and a stack having its mouth substantiallyperpendicular to the ground, substantially as set forth.

i. In a snow-plow, the combination of a snow-shovel, a hood descendingbelow the heads of the rails, and means for elevating said hood,substantially as set forth.

5. In a snow-plow, the combination of two snow-shovels, each shove].rotating in an opposite direction to the other, a compartment for eachof said shovels to rotate in, and an outlet communicating with bothcompartments, substantially as specified.

6. In a snow-plow, the combination of two snow-shovels, each shovelrotating in an opposite direction to the other, a compartment for eachof said shovels, and an uptake communicating with both compartments,substantially as set forth.

7. In a snow-plow, the combination of two snow-shovels, each shovelrotating in an opposite direction to the other, a compartment for eachof said shovels, an uptake communicating with both of said compartments,and a stack for said uptake, substantially as specified.

8. In a snow-plow, the combination of two snow-shovels, each shovelrotating in an opposite direction to the other, a compartment for eachof said shovels, an uptake communicating with both of said compartments,and a stack for said uptake, having its mouth substantiallyperpendicular to the ground, substantially as specified.

9. In a snow-plow, the combination ofi two snow-shovels, each shovelrotating in an opposite direction to the other, a compartment for eachof said shovels, an uptake communicating with both of said compartments,a stack for said uptake, having its mouth substantially perpendicular tothe ground, and means for rotating said stack about said uptake tochange the position of its mouth, substantially as specified.

10. In a snow-plow, a rotary shovel comprising a center hub, a backplate, and a se ries of curved blades attached to said hub and backplate and having a turned-over outer portion, substantially as setforth.

11. In a snow-plow, the combination of a rotary shovel and an outlet forthe snow, said shovel having a series of curved blades with the centerof their are coinciding with the horizontal center line of the outlet,substantially as set forth.

12. In a snow-plow, the combination, with I a casing and its shovels, ofa hood extending on each side of the rail to near the ground,

and means for elevating said parts above the rail, substantially asspecified.

This specification signed and witnessed this 8th day of April, 1889,

THEODORE SGHEFFLER.

Witnesses:

FREDK. A. SOHEFFLER, HENRY A. CLARK.

